Premonition
by xCryssax
Summary: At last, he would fulfill his birthright. At last, he would be king. What Loki believed was rightfully his was now within his grasp, but at what cost? Loki gets a rare opportunity to witness the consequences that stem from the aftermath of his actions on Midgard. After having this premonition, he will have a choice to make that will seal the fate of the nine realms. Rated M
1. Midgard Burns

Premonition

Summary: At last, he would fulfill his birthright. At last, he would be king. What Loki believed was rightfully his was now within his grasp, but at what cost? Loki gets a rare opportunity to witness the consequences that stem from the aftermath of his actions on Midgard. After having this premonition, he will have a choice to make that will seal the fate of the nine realms. Rated M for violent, possibly disturbing graphic imagery and possible character death. Evil!Loki in the beginning, possibly AU toward the end.

This will be four to five chapters max. To make it longer would just ruin the effect. This is just a plotbunny that came to me earlier and was just scratching on the wall of my brain wanting to be heard.

Ch. 1: Midgard burns…

As he stood upon the top balcony of Stark Tower, Loki watched the mayhem around him with a kind of gleeful grin. The portal created by the tesseract swirled above him. The air near the device rotated angrily, causing his green cape to billow out behind him. The chituari army was doing its job beautifully, causing widespread damage and confusion.

Yes, he liked this. This was the most fun he's had in centuries. He heard the fearful screams of the pathetic mortals below and had to physically suppress a hearty laugh. Not even their measly champions, their precious _Avengers_, he scoffed at the thought, were able to withstand the force of numbers and technological advancement of the alien militia.

At last, no one could doubt him. At last, he would no longer be in shadow, always underestimated. Finally, he would take his rightful place among the great kings of old, and not even his cursed heritage would deny it of him. This was what he had been promised by Thanos. It was the undeniable truth that he would rule the denizens of Midgard uncontested in exchange for the tesseract. To fail at his end had not been an option. Now, he knew not how he could possibly fail.

"Enough of this, Loki!" Loki was torn from his joyful thoughts by a disgustingly familiar bellow. He cringed and turned to face his supposed former brother. Thor brandished Mojlnir first at Loki, and then toward the tesseract. "Shut it down or _I_ will shut it down!"

Loki snarled and leapt toward Thor, scepter at the ready. Thor deflected his estranged brother's weapon and swung heavily at Loki's head, however, he dodged expertly. This exchange of blows between brothers continued for several minutes, Loki losing his scepter toward the end of their skirmish.

Just as Loki was about to turn to his magic instead, Thor pinned his hands with his own fists and glared intently into the younger god's emerald eyes. Loki seemed confused for a fleeting second, wondering why Thor wouldn't finish him while he had the chance. To fail to do so would go against everything Thor had ever been taught as a warrior.

"Look around, Loki! Look at the death and destruction you brought here! Do you really think this madness will end with your rule?" Thor pleaded intently, his stony blue eyes trying so hard to find even a small flicker of the beloved little brother he once knew in Loki's cold green eyes.

All Loki remembered after Thor's plea was a blinding flash of white light. He felt his body jar violently, but associated no pain with the odd sensation.

_So Thor actually dealt the final blow_, Loki thought to himself and admitted himself surprised. _I never knew the sentimental oaf had it in him; perhaps I should not have underestimated him._ If he were able to smirk, he would have at that moment as he just realized that his thoughts were complimentary of the older god.

Loki opened his eyes as the world around him stilled, and he was surprised that he could even perform that action. After a split second, a pungent smell of putrid burning flesh invaded his senses. The smell was so strong it made his eyes sting and water. _What in the name of Hel is going on?_ He wondered.

Loki made to rise to his feet, but had to push a fallen slab on concrete out of the way as he did so. His godly strength was still a part of him, evidently.

As he took in the sight of his environment, he wondered for one wild moment if he had somehow fallen into the fiery realm of Muspelheim. The air was thick with smoke and the acrid smell of burning meat. The broken concrete that littered the ground was the only thing telling him that something was amiss. The sky had a faint orangey-red glow barely visible through the black smoke.

As Loki made his way through the wasted, broken land, he could make out the remnants of collapsed structures laid out row by row. Everything looked like the mortals depiction of the apocalypse. Loki realized that he must still be on Midgard. Not even trees or any other plant life seemed to survive. As he took in the sight, he nearly tripped over a large object in the shattered street that sparked as his foot hit it. He glared down at the offending object before betraying a slight gasp of shock which turned into a look of happy relief.

It was the letter 'S' portion of the sign that once adorned the top of Stark Tower.

His chituari army had been victorious. Pure delight flowed through his veins like wildfire. It was finally time to take his place as king.

_King of what?_ Spoke a strange voice he did not recognize in the back of his mind. _A dead, burning world? Look around. Have you seen even one living soul since you woke up?_ This made Loki observe his surroundings more closely. Indeed, the voice was right. He hadn't seen any survivors, and there were none to be seen even now.

Loki walked carefully another half a block until he stood in front of what looked like a ruined museum. As he picked his way among the rubble, he was caught off guard by several small figures lying among the debris. Once he realized what the figures were, he gazed down at them silently.

The bodies of human children, probably on a school day trip when the invasion hit. Some were obviously crushed, some partially burned, all unrecognizable.

Strangely enough, the sight struck Loki to his core, though he did not show it outwardly. Of all the wicked things he had intended, this had not been one of them. Despite that they were the spawn of a weak, pathetic race, they were innocent. Like a butterfly crushed under a boot for merely landing on a flower petal, these children had no more deserved their fate. His gaze was stoic, yet he grieved within.

From up above, he could hear the squawking of carrion fowl. Loki only gave them his attention because they were the first evidence of life on this god's forsaken planet. His curious gaze made its way up a broken skyscraper. As he looked upward, he realized that the building was the remains of Stark Tower. The tower became further blackened with soot and ash the higher he looked. The tower did not go up very far. The entire top portion had collapsed to the street below, which is where he had woken up from. As he inspected the damage, a horrible sight met his eyes that caused him to gasp aloud and cover his mouth with his hand.

Impaled in the edge of the broken tower was…Loki? _But…that's impossible, isn't it? I am here. I am me! Aren't I?_ Loki thought desperately as he patted himself on the chest, as if the action would tell his mind that his body was real, because the image on top of the tower couldn't possibly be reality. The living Loki could not tear his own eyes away from the ghastly sight, as much as he wished to. His body had been impaled through his gut, the gold armor stripped away and the black and green leathers hanging from his lifeless shoulders in tatters. The body had no eyes staring out of empty sockets and most of his long black hair had been torn from his scalp, courtesy of the circling crows and vultures overhead. As he looked on in shock and horror, a vulture landed on a beam close to the body and began to strip and devour torn bits of visible flesh.

Just below Loki's own body was a crude message scrawled with what looked like flame, the letters scorched into the side of the building:

"**ALL HAIL LOKI**

**KING OF THE**

**BURNING FILTH**

**THE CARRION FOWL**"

Loki had to take a moment to catch his breath and attempt to regain his composure. He had retched uncontrollably at the images in his head and he could not stop shaking. The sight was more than even the god of mischief, lies, and chaos was able to handle.

"THANOS!" Loki screamed into the burning night. "THANOS, YOU TRAITOROUS BEAST! YOU PROMISED ME! YOU PROMISED!" Loki hunched over and placed his hands on his still shaking knees and attempted to catch his breath. Loki coughed deeply from his screams and from the smoke inhalation.

He looked up as his eyes caught a faint bluish glow. Loki stepped unsteadily toward the strange glow, almost afraid of what he would find. Strangely, the glow, so different in a world full of red and black and death, gave him a small glimmer of hope. Hope of what, he could not be sure. He reached down and picked up a small glowing, cylindrical piece of tech. It was very familiar to him.

"Was I such a fool?" Loki whispered lightly, the curling smoke and crows were all who heard him. In his hand was the small arc reactor that had blocked the magic of his scepter from taking over its owner's mind. He held the arc reactor that kept Tony Stark alive.

The next thing he knew, the white light blinded him once again, throwing off every one of his senses. Loki knew he had landed somewhere. He was familiar with teleportation, but he quickly realized that he somehow had no control over this. Someone, or something, was moving him around like a game piece. He registered the thought that under normal circumstances, this knowledge would annoy him greatly, but at that moment in his weakened state, he could not muster up the ability to care.

Even before he opened his eyes, the feeling he got from this place was worlds different than the death and emptiness he felt on Midgard. Yet, he felt it to be familiar somehow, but there was still an underlying sense of death permeating the air, as if he could feel the lost souls eating away at his spirit.


	2. Break the Ice

Ch.2: Break the Ice

The next thing he knew, the white light blinded him once again, throwing off every one of his senses. Loki knew he had landed somewhere. He was familiar with teleportation, but he quickly realized that he somehow had no control over this. Someone, or something, was moving him around like a game piece. He registered the thought that under normal circumstances, this knowledge would annoy him greatly, but at that moment in his weakened state, he could not muster up the ability to care.

Even before he opened his eyes, the feeling he got from this place was worlds different than the death and emptiness he felt on Midgard. Yet, he felt it to be familiar somehow, but there was still an underlying sense of death permeating the air, as if he could feel the lost souls eating away at his spirit.

The ground was hard and a chill wetness was soaking him through. Loki opened his eyes slowly and lifted himself to his hands and knees in the snow. As he began to take in his surroundings, the reason the land seemed so familiar to him became apparent, and he could not help but smirk.

"Ah, so you think you are going to, shall we say, _appeal to my humanity_?" Loki said scathingly to the cold, empty land. He hoped that whatever or whoever was trying to manipulate him was listening. "You attempt to appeal to my humanity by sending me to _Jotunheim_? No matter. Midgard may be lost to me, but this realm is mine by right."

Feeling considerably more confident than he had before, he walked the familiar snowy path he knew led to the main city built out of a glacier. His plan was clear in his mind. He would enter the palace of ice, claim his rightful place at the throne, strike down all who would oppose him, and use the might of the Jotun army to seek his vengeance, not only against the denizens of Asgard, but against Thanos as well.

Thanos believed that he had killed Loki. Loki would prove Thanos wrong, but not before using that element of surprise to his advantage.

As he made his way into the outer wall of the city, Loki began to sense that something was off. Pillars of ice formed into large dwellings where families of Frost Giants would live. Families dwelled near the outskirts, while the structures located toward the center of the city served the Jotun militia. He remembered this piece of information from the last time he stepped foot in this realm. As he walked toward the center of the city where he knew the palace to be, he was startled by the lack of life he found, eerily similar to his admittedly disturbing experience on Midgard. No shouts of children or their parents echoing the streets, no footsteps, nothing. Loki found himself almost wishing for an attack, anything to break the still silence.

The houses, he noticed, seemed damaged somehow. Not as grand or whole as they were during his last visit. Loki stepped off the slushy road to one such house. He carefully touched the outside wall. He realized then that the buildings were partially melted. Even the snow within the city, once pure and brilliant, had melted to pools of filthy slush. Something was very wrong here. He was sure that this hadn't been caused by the power of the bifrost that Loki himself had unleashed on this world. The damage would have been more widespread. The outside of the city was relatively untouched.

Loki stepped back on the wet road and hastened his pace to the palace. As he approached, he made note that it was not near as damaged as the rest of the city.

The icy gate of the palace was on the ground in ruins. Loki stepped over the chunks of ice and entered the all too familiar palace where he had unknowingly first encountered his real father.

Loki remembered the last time he came here. The entrance hall he stood in now had been full of life. The giants that occupied the hall hadn't exactly denied him passage, but they hadn't let him out of their sight either. Now as he looked around the empty hall, the metallic tang of the scent of blood was made known to him and seemed to be coming to an adjacent room. The throne room, if he remembered correctly. Loki entered the throne room and the sight made him roll his eyes in disgust. The floor was dotted with large pools of deep indigo blood.

"These barbaric creatures cannot even refrain from slaughtering one another. Such beasts." Loki couldn't help but scoff softly to himself.

As he took in the state of the throne room, he noticed a thin trail of indigo blood that led out of a door several yards to the side of the throne. Curious, Loki followed the trail.

The door led down a hallway. He continued to follow the trail of blood through another door several yards away. As Loki entered the room, he deduced that it must be the royal chambers. The light streaming through the panes of ice serving as windows illuminated a large blue figure lying in the middle of the floor. The figure was faced towards him.

It was a female Frost Giant. She was older, more mature. Her black hair was long and was twisted in thin braids around her face. As Loki approached, he took note that she was not near as tall as many of the Jotun he had seen, yet she was still taller than him by over a foot. Her form was lithe, yet toned. She wore elegant looking blue and white furs that covered all necessary areas, and her gold tone jewelry was beautiful and elegant. Befitting of a queen.

Loki stiffened at the thought. He hadn't remembered seeing this woman on his previous trip. He certainly would have remembered if Laufey had a queen.

_But he did at one time, didn't he_? Said that annoying little voice in the back of his mind again.

Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes. Loki realized she was still alive. As her head turned to face him and her eyes met his, Loki's breath caught in his throat.

Her eyes were not red! He had never seen a Jotun that did not have red eyes.

"He took them all." The female spoke in a weak and shaky voice that pulled Loki out of his thoughts.

"What?" He said a bit more harshly than he had intended. This woman had shaken him more than he would like to admit.

"He promised them retribution. Promised them everything I could not. The values I tried to instill in my people after my husband's death…" She paused to cough. She coughed up blood onto the floor. The words 'my husband' she said in a wickedly scathing tone and this bit of info sent Loki's mind reeling. The woman caught her breath and continued, but her voice was much weaker. "Some stayed loyal to me, those who opposed my imprisonment. I pleaded to them to not listen, that all it would bring to our world was destruction. He killed…" She ran out of strength as her words faded. Loki did not need to wonder what happened next. Thanos had beaten him here and used Jotunheim to build his army. All who opposed Thanos, and those he no longer had use for, had been killed.

Out of nothing but pure instinct, Loki unthinkingly knelt down beside the fallen queen and placed his hand on her arm. She immediately tried to pull back out of his grasp, thinking that her touch would burn him. Her eyes grew wide even as her body grew weaker from the loss of blood. She looked on as, instead of his skin burning as she expected, the male Asgardian's skin turned cold, hard, and blue. She watched as the ridges formed on his face and hands and gasped as his eyes turned from emerald green to vivid red. As Loki knelt close beside the dying woman, he began to shake as he gazed into her eyes up close. Indeed they were not red as was typical of the Frost Giants.

Her eyes were green…as emerald green as those of her lost son's.

"My…so…" Her vivid green eyes dulled as she took her last breath.

He didn't have time to grieve or even think at that moment as his body was swept up in another blinding flash of white light. Loki was resigned at this point. What could he possibly be shown next, and why was this happening? He promised himself that this time, he would find out why.


End file.
